Drifting Into Mind
by potatopeeling
Summary: Eventually, the Teen Titans convince Superboy to join them. Then, they try to remember. DCnU/reboot, loosely based on the solicits for new issues of Teen Titans.
1. Chapter 1

Superboy hadn't expected his first fight against the Teen Titans to happen this way. He hadn't even expected to have to term it as his "first." He supposes that makes him a failure of a weapon.

When he had first seen Red Robin and Wonder Girl on his monitor, he had felt - something. He didn't know what it was. So he ignored it and focused on finding the weaknesses in their techniques.

But when he sees them for the first time in front of him, real and alive, the feeling comes back. It feels like being tackled into a wall and like he forgot to do something, all at once. This time, he ignores it in favor of throwing Wonder Girl into the pavement of Times Square. Some time later, Red Robin, Kid Flash, and some other teenagers he's never heard of show up to fight him. His eyes automatically focus on Red Robin and Kid Flash until the speedster zooms away somewhere and he's left staring into Red Robin's mask.

It's hauntingly familiar and for a moment, he remembers another mask and another face; this mask is green and round and the face is younger and just a little less fierce. Then he blinks and it's gone, replaced by a black and yellow disk whizzing up to catch him on the shoulder. He growls in annoyance at the burning pain and uses his tactile telekinesis to detach a window frame from the building he's floating next to and hurls it down at Red Robin. For a moment, he stands completely still and Superboy thinks it's going to make contact, but then he flips out of the way with ease and efficiency.

Kid Flash runs around in a circle beneath him and Superboy looks down just in time to realize what he's doing yet too late to avoid it. He's buffeted by wind on all sides, stuck in a vortex of air and looking down at the red and yellow blur in the middle of it all just makes him dizzy. Then suddenly it stops and he almost forgets how to fly but just as he's remembering, he's being kicked in the side by Red Robin. As he goes down, he sees that he had used a grappling hook to launch himself from the side of the fifth story of the building and then he's skidding into the pavement. Red Robin lands on top of him, his weight forcing the air out of his lungs.

"Why are you doing this?" he asks him, eyebrows furrowing behind his mask. "You wear the S-shield, so why are you fighting us?" Superboy just snarls at him and his arm twitches with the urge to punch. But then Red Robin's gone and there's beeping coming from his chest and suddenly everything is an explosion of light and pain.

He's not invulnerable. They told him that once but he hadn't listened. He had fared well against those gigantic inmates and Wonder Girl, so who would have thought Red Robin's toy would take him out?

Apparently, N.O.W.H.E.R.E. did. They had people stationed around the fight area to take him back to the lab before the Teen Titans could call anyone else.

There, he was scolded like a dog. He had scowled at them and promised to do better next time. Now, he's watching news footage of the fight, examining his own faults as well as those of the Teen Titans. He still doesn't have his freedom and it's humiliating.

The next time they fight, it's in Central Park. This time, it's mostly private once the civilians scattered and fled. Superboy is grateful for that. Times Square had been nerve-wracking; he had never been around so many people in his short life. Even flying above Central Park had made him a little nervous, but it wasn't nearly as bad. This place is more open with no walls in sight and no corners to turn and he doesn't know what to do with so much room. The only thing to watch out for when he flies are the low branches of the trees.

He sees Red Robin glance around at the trees as well and he imagines he must look just as out of place in his black and red outfit as Red Robin does. So he soars into the sky above the tops of the trees, intending to draw out Wonder Girl and take her down first. Then he'll deal with the rest.

When Wonder Girl takes the bait and follows him, he doesn't expect to see Red Robin in her arms. Nor does he expect to see her let go and try not to laugh as Red Robin's wings allow him to fly. Superboy is infuriated; this kid is a pain in his ass.

"Superboy, please, let's talk this out," Red Robin pleads as he follows him higher into the air. "What do you have against us?"

Superboy doesn't know how to answer that. They did nothing to him. He's doing this because he has to. "It's none of your business," he snaps.

"Actually, since this is the second time we're fighting, I think it is," Red Robin answers dryly.

"Oh, just punch him!" Wonder Girl shouts as she comes up from behind him. He grabs her fist as she punches him and twists it, throwing her to the ground. He can hear Red Robin flying toward him and turns around, grabbing his ridiculous wings and pulling. They break easily enough under his strength and Red Robin's eyes widen behind his mask as he falls.

Superboy smirks in victory until he realizes what he's actually done. He watches, unable to move as Red Robin plummets to the ground and for a terrifying moment he thinks he's about to become a killer. But at the last moment, Wonder Girl catches him and Superboy feels his heart start to beat again. His eyes lock with the white lenses of Red Robin's mask and it feels like the boy can read his mind. It makes him look away, even in the middle of a fight.

The next thing he knows, Wonder Girl is in his face, screaming at him. "You could have killed him!" she shouts as she aims a punch at his fist. He lets it connect but dodges the next one.

"I didn't mean to," he growls back at her. The hatred in her eyes makes him want to squirm and apologize but he resists the urge. He thinks he's dreamed about eyes like hers, filled with love and admiration.

The spider creature's - Skitter's - tail catches him in the back of the head at that moment and he falls. Kid Flash is there to meet him when he reaches the ground and right after, so are Bunker and Red Robin. He's under a barrage of attacks when Red Robin pulls out a glowing green ring from one of his belts. Immediately feeling ill, Superboy collapses. When he looks up at Red Robin, the boy is regarding him with something that looks like guilt and sympathy. It could be the kryptonite or the mask messing with his head, but it looks like he doesn't want to hurt him.

For the second time, Superboy blacks out when Wonder Girl lands an unforgiving blow to the already sore spot on the back of his head.

The third time he fights the Teen Titans, it's two days later and it's barely a fight at all. More like a misunderstanding. This time, they come to him.

Wonder Girl looks furious as always but Red Robin looks...softer. Before Superboy can process why and how that is, let alone decide on an attack plan, Red Robin reaches out.

"Superboy, join us," he offers and Superboy has to wonder if he's losing it. "How they're treating you here, it's not right. You're a _person_, not just some experiment. Come with us and you can have a family. We'll introduce you to Superman and there's even a Super_girl_ now. Come with us and you'll have freedom."

It's a nice idea. But Superboy has no idea how trustworthy he is. He tenses and feels the floor around him with his tactile telekinesis to find security officers scurrying around in a panic beneath them.

"How can you promise that?" he asks, disbelieving.

"Heroes take care of their own. You can be one of us, no questions asked," Red Robin swears, and the mask has never looked so serious. Superboy glances at the other Teen Titans. Wonder Girl is glaring at the floor with her arms crossed but seems to be resigned to his possible acceptance of the offer. Bunker and Skitter are looking at him almost eagerly, though it's hard to tell. Kid Flash is vibrating with nervous energy.

"Okay," Superboy says after a tense moment and takes Red Robin's outstretched hand. "But if this is some kind of trick, I'll destroy you."

"It would only be fair," Red Robin replies and he's actually grinning at Superboy. It's a little shy and a lot reassuring.

Wonder Girl thumps him on the back a bit viciously and spares him a small, sharp smile. "Let's blow this joint before the scientists get through Red's nerd barricades."

They give him a bedroom in Titans Tower. It's sort of their hideout while teenage superheroes are being hunted down and it's difficult for Superboy to get used to living with people. There had been people where he lived before, but they had simply worked there. They were only there to study him. Here, he shares food with Bart before he annoys Red Robin into the TV room so they can teach Superboy about video games. Here, Cassie and Miguel give him these looks that he can't decipher while they talk to him. Here, he knows everyone's name-except Red Robin's.

He's asked him for it before. Red Robin had just looked at him sadly from behind his mask. It wasn't personal, he had said. Superboy doesn't believe him.

Every day, they spar. Apparently, Superboy needs to learn how to control his powers better. It only makes sense, since he hasn't been alive as long as the others and even they need to train. Except Red Robin. His muscles are real, not artificially produced, and his movements have a calculated grace that he's never seen before. Unlike everyone else in the Teen Titans, he knows what he's doing.

So it's a shocking victory when Superboy gets him on the floor of the training room, back flat against the hard tile and expression dazed from hitting his head. Superboy kneels over him, leaning down to inspect the damage. Red Robin is wearing his armored costume, but his head isn't protected and he's been taught that humans are extremely fragile. This one is less so, but it's still...worrying.

"Are you hurt?" he asks, reaching out to touch the back of Red Robin's head gently. He winces when Superboy's fingers graze where it slammed against the tile.

"Just...give me a second," he answers and his mask scrunches up slightly as he blinks rapidly behind it. Superboy's thumb brushes over the edge of it lightly as he continues to kneel there, studying Red Robin's face. Or what he can see of it.

Before he realizes what he's doing, the edge of the mask is separating from Red Robin's skin. It's peeling up slowly and Red Robin is staring at him, he can feel it, but he doesn't say anything so Superboy doesn't stop himself. Soon, the other side of the mask is being pulled off by his tactile telekinesis as well and the suspense is almost too much for him. He wants to see Red Robin's face, his eyes, his _identity_. Superboy wants to know who he is.

Finally, the mask comes off and his aura throws it aside. Blue eyes gaze up at him almost shyly and Superboy can't even blink. He can see Red Robin's intelligence in them, as well as his sadness and bitterness. It's all so _familiar_. It feels like he should have known all along what was under the mask but for some reason, he had forgotten.

It also feels wrong, to see those things in Red Robin's eyes. The focused intelligence he had almost expected, yes, but the other things that the boy is failing to hide shouldn't be there. Red Robin shouldn't look like he's just lost everything he's ever cared about.

But then Superboy remembers that he shouldn't care about what Red Robin's eyes look like aside from the issue of secrecy. He doesn't even know this kid's name. He's just the leader of some ragtag group of superpowered refugees. Superboy wasn't created to care.

He lets Red Robin's head fall the two inches to the floor when he removes his hand and rises, not sparing the discarded mask a glance as he flies out of the training room.

The twenty-third time Superboy fights Red Robin, he leaves him uneasy and disconcerted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: **That awkward moment when I start off writing slight Tim/Kon and it turns into Tim/Steph. Just a warning.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Alf," Tim calls home one day after reestablishing contact with his family. "Why did I ever change the Robin costume to red and black? They're not exactly traditional," he asks, forcing his tone to remain nonchalant. There's an uncomfortable moment of silence on the other end of the line.<p>

"Why, I can't remember, Master Timothy," Alfred answers, sounding astonished in his own quiet way. Tim frowns.

"Yeah, me neither," he says and hangs up.

* * *

><p>Sometimes, when Bart thinks he isn't looking, Tim catches him staring at some of the Teen Titans. Considering Bart barely has the patience to look at a sheet of paper for as long as he watches them, it's unusual enough. It's even more peculiar that he looks so sad, like just the sight of that person is breaking his heart.<p>

The only ones he looks like at that are Cassie, Superboy, and Tim. He's checked the video footage from the cameras he has hidden around the Tower to make sure.

When he watches the feed from the camera in Bart's room one night during routine surveillance before heading to bed, he finds Bart giving the same destroyed look to a sketch he did just moments before. The drawing is of a man, old and gray, dressed in blue and white. Tim has never seen him before in any of Batman's files.

* * *

><p>The team likes to watch television together. Not all the girls like video games and Miguel is absolutely terrible at them, so they settle for lounging together and watching anything that's on. Lately, one channel has been showing old reruns of Wendy the Werewolf Stalker and Superboy has been adamant about watching all that he can of the show.<p>

Cassie frequently complains that it's too predictable and Tim has to agree. He can guess all the so-called twist endings within the first five minutes of watching. He can even predict the dialogue, almost word for word, but he enjoys it regardless.

During one episode which features a pretty blonde girl that Tim can _swear_ he's seen before, Bart gives that look to the television. Tim narrows his eyes but doesn't ask.

The next day, a DVD of Wendy that includes that episode is resting on Bart's desk, almost hidden from view by a doodle of a small spotted dog.

* * *

><p>Tim goes home for the first time in months. Not home to his anonymous penthouse apartment without so much as a fish, but home to Wayne Manor. Dick isn't there, but Damian and Bruce are. Damian seems taller than he remembers, but he <em>is<em> at that age.

"How old are you now, demon spawn?" he asks Damian, one eyebrow quirked.

"I am _twelve_, which you would know if you weren't gallivanting across the country with that pathetic excuse for a team," Damian tells him with his arms crossed and Tim thinks.

"What did you get for your birthday last year?" The question obviously catches Damian off guard.

"Why would you care?" he asks and Tim shrugs halfheartedly.

"Just can't remember, I guess."

"For your information, _Drake_," Damian starts but his sneer freezes and for a moment, his eyes are questioning and tracking frantically. "A jet," he finally finishes and scoffs before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

But Tim knows he's lying, because his mother gave him a jet for his tenth birthday and Dick gave him the access codes for Batman's ages ago.

* * *

><p>He's in a teen-friendly store in the mall, figuring he should pick up some clothes for Superboy since it's not like any of the other Titans can afford it. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the slightest idea what he would wear. He briefly considers buying him all leather and skin-tight pants as a joke and snorts to himself. Instead, he makes his way over to the racks of plain shirts, deeming them safe and acceptable.<p>

Upon seeing a rack of Superman themed shirts, he's tempted to buy one, but that would be too suspicious considering he doesn't wear a mask. Then, he sees a row of black tees with a red S shield imprinted on them and for some reason, the sight of them makes him forget to breathe. Shaking his head slightly, he notices it isn't the stylized S Superboy wears on his chest and mentally berates the producer for getting it wrong. Still, he picks out a size medium for himself, if only out of support for his teammate.

In the end, he buys some jeans, an assortment of t-shirts, and a pair of tasteful boots for Superboy. He isn't sure why, but he succumbs to the strange urge to throw in a black sweatband once he gets to the counter.

* * *

><p>Most of the time, when he's not terrorized by nightmares, he dreams of blue eyes. Sometimes, rarely, the eyes are brown, but he chalks those dreams up to statistics.<p>

Tim can't understand why the eyes are almost always blue when he wakes up with a phantom warmth enveloping his body and a faint memory of someone holding him. Occasionally he'll remember a flash of purple or the softness of hair.

Sometimes he wakes up crying. Sometimes he wakes up with his heart so full of love he wishes he could remember his dreams.

* * *

><p>Superboy trusts him more now that he's seen Tim's face, which Tim supposes is only fair since the rest of the team had seen his face since the beginning. But Tim had to be sure he wasn't going to return to N.O.W.H.E.R.E. before letting him in.<p>

Now, Superboy comes up to him, looking unsure yet determined, and stands in front of Tim until he looks up from his laptop. He barely has time to raise an eyebrow before Superboy declares, "Sometimes I remember things."

"What kinds of things?" Tim asks after a moment, noting how Superboy's fists are clenched at his sides.

"Things like...faces. Your face. Cassie's and Bart's faces, but different and younger," he says. His gaze shifts to the floor then flicks back up at Tim as he takes a deep breath. "I remember the smell of a farm and I-I can do the hula. Do you think I was created with these memories?" He looks at Tim hesitantly and Tim wants to offer him comfort, but he doesn't know what to say.

"No, there's no point in you knowing those things. Besides, Bart wasn't _known about_when he was younger, so it's impossible to implant the memory of his appearance," Tim tells him, moving his elbows to his chair's armrests and steepling his fingers. There's something wrong with some of their memories, and even if not everyone is not affected, it's significant enough to be concerned.

It's incredibly disconcerting.

Superboy is still staring at him and looking frustrated and just a little bit vulnerable. "I'll look into it and let you know when I have more information. For now, don't worry about it," he says, hoping it sounds reassuring and turns his attention back to his computer screen. He hears Superboy huff in annoyance and walk away.

* * *

><p>"Bruce, how is your memory?" He doesn't sugarcoat it, not for Batman. There's a slight pause on the other end of the line before the man responds.<p>

"Muddled at best, contradictory at worst. The...chronology of events don't make sense somehow if I think about them for too long. I assume yours if off as well?" Bruce responds and it's strangely relieving how he says it all like it's just another case. But then, it probably is.

"There are things missing. Important things. Why didn't I have any friends? Bruce, I can't remember the last time I talked to my dad. And I know the anniversaries for things I can't remember," Tim tells him and he lets a fraction of the distress he's feeling leak into his voice. Bruce is - no, he's not his father, but then why does he remember Damian angrily telling him he's adopted-

"We'll figure it out," Bruce's voice cuts through his growing panic and he takes a breath. "Has anyone else been affected?"

"Superboy, Kid Flash, and I think Damian and Wonder Girl," he answers. "But they're the only ones I've noticed. If it's affecting more than you, me, and Damian, it could very well have affected the entire community."

Bruce breathes. "I'll ask around. Gather more information from your team and report back," Batman orders.

"Got it," he replies and Bruce has already hung up.

* * *

><p>"You remember," he says and Bart jumps off his bed in surprise. Perhaps Tim should have knocked. But Bart has already recovered and is looking at him like he's trying to decide whether or not to try lying to him.<p>

"I didn't at first," he finally replies, glancing down at the drawing in his hand that he had been looking at when Tim first came in. "At first, it was just dreams and I figured that wasn't that weird 'cause everyone has dreams, y'know? But then I started remembering stuff when I _wasn't_ dreaming and I met you and Kon and Cassie and everything just started to click."

Kon. Who is- "Conner," Tim breathes and the red and black Superboy shirt he bought instantly comes to mind. He remembers how he held that shirt and tried not to cry but he can't remember _why_. "How do you remember?" he asks Bart, desperately, because this is so frustrating. He's so close to answers but he doesn't know how to find them.

"I'm a time paradox. So when the Flash changed the timeline a few months ago and then changed it back and all this stuff changed, I was immune. Well, I was supposed to be immune, but I kind of almost died, so I guess I was in shock or something for a while," Bart explains. It makes sense but doesn't at the same time, but Tim figures that's usually the case with time travel.

"So, what you're saying is," Tim begins slowly. "All this stuff we can't remember happened but the Flash made it so it didn't. And now no one knows what's going on."

"Pretty much," Bart says. Tim's heart pounds as he thinks of his next question.

"Why did meeting us make you remember?" he asks and tries to swallow down the anticipation. Bart smiles, brokenly, and there's a gust of air as a different drawing appears in his hand.

Tim can make out Bart and himself immediately. But he realizes the other two teenagers are a punk Superboy and Wonder Girl in a wig just as Bart says, "We were best friends."

* * *

><p>A month later, he meets the Spoiler on a trip to Gotham. Her costume is the eggplant of his dreams and he follows her home, hoping to see when she takes off her mask.<p>

She catches him peeking through her window and punches him in the face. He thinks he might be in love.

* * *

><p>But a month after that, Cassie and Kon (they've taken to calling him that, after Bart explained things to everyone) get together. Tim watches out of the corner of his eye as they kiss and something inside of him lurches. He thinks it's jealousy, but he can't decide who it's for.<p>

Bart had told him that he and Cassie dated after Kon had died. He also told him that he changed his Robin colors to Superboy's.

But Cassie has more attitude than she used to and Kon is...different. It used to just be a gut feeling, but Bart had agreed when he brought it up.

So Tim looks away and replies to the flirty text Stephanie Brown just sent to Alvin Draper.


End file.
